


Until Next Time

by serafina19



Category: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-10-25 21:37:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10772931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serafina19/pseuds/serafina19
Summary: A collection of moments where Greg and Rebecca try to repair their relationship. Spoilers up to 2x13.





	1. Leaving for Emory

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this before 2x04 aired, intending it to be a one-shot of Greg trying to tell Rebecca the truth before leaving, but chickening out upon seeing her wearing his Emory sweatshirt. Upon seeing “It was a Shitshow,” I almost scrapped the idea entirely because that scene was bittersweet, but fitting and awesome. Then it turned into this, which required a few re-writes after the finale, but I’m going to post this now so I don’t back out.

Greg sighed as he stood in front of her door, knowing that this wasn’t going to be easy. It was late, but he was running out of time as it was and there was no way he would get the courage to do this again. But if she was awake, then she was going to hate him.

When one round of knocks came up empty, he tried the door, not remotely surprised when it opened. That didn’t stop him from shaking his head, but that feeling quickly subsided when he realized this was probably his fault.

As he took his first couple of steps, he reminded himself of what he was going to tell Rebecca. Timing was never on their side and he couldn’t put his dream on hold for her. Sure, the chase was fun, but when they were actually together, they were terrible to each other. Plus, Josh wasn’t going away anytime soon and at this point, he couldn't handle being in the same room as both of them, regardless of whether she was with him or if she was with Josh. It wasn't fair to her and Josh somehow still his best friend, so something had to give, no matter how much Rebecca would inevitably insist that she was over Josh now. Because even if that was true, it didn’t eliminate the fact that the last time he dated Rebecca, if he could call it that, Josh was unavailable. Sure that wasn’t the case this time, but they both knew that any relationship that they had would feel like a rebound and that was the last thing he needed for his recovery.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, his dad was right. For every Thanksgiving night, there were three taco festivals disasters and he couldn’t take that anymore. His hand had just recovered from the wall he had punched when he found out about her and Josh and he knew that wasn’t a sustainable solution or a healthy habit to start. So Greg had to make this step, for his sake and hers.

However, every single one of those words faded away when he saw Rebecca sleeping on the couch. It didn’t help to see the empty bottle of wine on the table next to her. She wasn’t an alcoholic, but he was definitely responsible for that and that didn’t sit well with him.

Then he noticed something that, despite his current mood, Greg couldn’t help but grin slightly. There were multiple pillows on that couch, yet somehow his Emory sweatshirt had become her make-shift pillow. Granted, he could only read the “E,” but it was enough.

It was a beautiful sight, seeing what she was like when she let her mind relax for longer than five seconds, that something of his brought her this kind of comfort when no one was watching. Unfortunately, that didn’t change the reason he had come here tonight, but now it held a sour taste in his mouth.

Greg knew had let her down on the bridge, so he thought this was the noble thing to do, to be honest with Rebecca and tell her that he was leaving. Now, this felt selfish. It would make him feel better, knowing he didn’t back out of something, but she would take this hard. It was the only way Rebecca Bunch could react to something.

He also didn’t want to be the reason her peaceful bubble popped, so he looked over his shoulder, tempted by the pad and pen lying on her dining table. A note wouldn’t be the worst route to go, but it was probably more cowardly than saying nothing at all, especially since he had already driven all this way.

With one last look at the couch, he exhaled slowly as he debated his options. Nothing really felt like the right call, but eventually, Greg realized that maybe he had already done damage on the bridge and an explanation wasn’t needed. At this point, she knew that he didn’t want a relationship, so maybe it was best to leave before he made things worse. It was also the easiest thing for Greg to do, so he decided not to debate the decision further.

Unfortunately, his progress towards the door was stopped when Rebecca groggily said, “Greg, is that you?”

He swallowed hard, lowering his hand from the doorknob. “Hey,” he said as he turned slightly. “I’m sorry I woke you.”

As he took a couple of steps into the main room, he watched as Rebecca got off the couch. Greg wasn’t quite sure how she did it, but even with uneven make-up and mussed-up hair, she was still beautiful. The fact that she was still holding his sweatshirt didn’t help the way he felt as she approached him.

“Don’t worry about it,” Rebecca said. She brought her other hand up to her hair, trying to make it look better. Then she smiled, which almost caused Greg to reconsider leaving. “You’re here now, that’s all that matters.”

And with that came another cruel reminder of why he had come. Greg should have foreseen that she would have misinterpreted his presence, but for some reason, he hadn’t. Now, his concerns about being here felt justified, as this attempt to be honest began to feel like the worst idea ever.

But he knew better than to walk around the situation, so he blurted, “My dad sold the house.” When Rebecca stopped walking, he took note of the confusion on her face, not that he blamed her. “He’s giving me the money I need to go to Emory. I’m actually leaving tomorrow.”

Rebecca looked down at the sweatshirt in her hands. “Wow, I…”

Eventually, the silence was too much for Greg. “I didn’t think I was going yesterday when I saw you.”

She scoffed quietly before biting the inside of her bottom lip. “You mean when you kissed me?”

Greg rolled his eyes, not surprised that she started there. “C’mon Bunch, Josh was living with you until a couple of days ago.”

It didn’t take long for him to hear that Josh had dumped Rebecca not long before she saw him on that bridge. Not to mention that it didn’t take her long to sleep with Josh the first time.

And she knew that, so to her credit, she didn’t immediately try to justify her behaviour. Her expression changed a few times, with her mouth opening and closing twice, no doubt trying to figure out how to explain her side of things.

Eventually, she settled on, “I still meant what I said.”

While he wanted to believe her, that didn’t matter anymore. Even if she wasn’t settling for him, something still didn’t feel right and he couldn’t let that keep him from going to his dream school. Or leaving West Covina.

That didn’t change the fact that Rebecca was affected by this decision, and it hurt him to see this firsthand, but Greg couldn’t do anything to change that now, so he ripped off the band-aid.

“Well, I still can’t stay,” he said.

Because despite the changes they both had made, the parts that scared Greg were still there. Until Greg could get a handle on his recovery, not to mention control of his life, he didn’t trust himself to not let himself get trapped by Rebecca again. For even though she had the best intentions, she was still lost in an illusion when it came to her love life and that had to change if any relationship between them was going to work.

That was why what she did next hardly surprised him, as she burst towards him. “Then I’ll come with you, or we’ll try long distance, or –”

Again, the light in her eyes faltered, this time because Greg had put a hand up, actually hoping to stop that train of thought. After he swallowed hard again, Greg shook his head as she recoiled. “Rebecca, I …”

Greg wanted to finish that sentence, but no matter what word combination came to him, it never felt right. Nor did this situation. Sure, he had spoiled his chance before, but he did it because he figured it was only a matter of time before Josh would get in the way. Technically, he was right, but Greg wasn’t blameless in this situation and he knew that all it took was a conversation like this for him to remember why he had fallen for Rebecca, quirks and all.

So, of course, Rebecca took that moment to ask the million dollar question.

 “Then why are you here?”

He had debated that enough, but in the end, his original reason was the one that rung the most true. “I know that seeing you would make leaving harder, but you inspired me to take night classes. You deserved to know why I didn’t show earlier.” He almost thought about telling her that he saw her on the bridge, but that knowledge would only bring more pain. “I was a coward at the wedding and on the bridge, I’ll own up to that.”

“And now,” Rebecca added, moving her head to look at the door behind him. “You were leaving before I got up, right?”

Greg dipped his head, as he supposed he could make the argument that he was walking in the door and not out. But she was smarter than that, a fact that he forgot sometimes, no matter how many times she mentioned that she went to Harvard. “What can I say? Old habits die hard.”

He wanted to look up, but instead he watched as one of her hands stroked his sweatshirt. Then she said, “This really is goodbye, isn’t it?”

Part of him believed that was true, but when Greg’s head popped up, he initially wanted to tell her otherwise. Fortunately, he stopped himself in time, as he knew it wasn’t that simple. It was no secret that he wasn’t a fan of West Covina, but a lot of fond memories were made here. Everyone important to him he had met here.

No matter how much he wanted to move on with his life, Greg didn’t want to completely forget where he came from. But he did want the chance to move on.

“My dad’s still here,” he said, knowing that if things ever got worse for his dad, he would find a way to be on the first plane to see him. Even if it meant dealing with LAX, the gridlock and the long drive to West Covina.

However, he didn’t want to dwell on that, especially when her expression seemed as happy as he currently felt. So Greg grinned slightly before adding that, “I’ll probably see you at Darryl and White Josh’s wedding.”

It was a stretch, as White Josh didn’t believe in marriage, but luckily, Rebecca didn’t know that, as she laughed at his comment. Then again, why not? Despite his overall frustration at living in West Covina, things did change, and White Josh and Darryl’s relationship ended being a lot stronger than anyone had predicted.

As they continued to stare at each other, Greg felt in awe over her. True, Rebecca was a bad person at times, but she had her good qualities. She really was one of a kind.

She let out another chuckle before saying, “It’s almost hard to believe that you’re the same guy I met in Home Base when I first moved here. I mean, it really feels like you’re putting your life together.”

“I’m getting there, I think.”  It was weirdly a trait that they shared, but unfortunately, they weren’t each other’s solution. “Can I tell you something?”

“Sure.”

Greg took a deep breath as he focused on Rebecca again. “There are people in your life that love you. It might not feel like it right now, but… don’t lose sight of the people that are still here.”

“I’m not going back to New York again, if that’s what you mean.”

He grinned at that. “That’s good,” he said. “But… I guess I’m trying to say that who you are is enough.”

“I don’t know about that,” Rebecca said after a scoff, and he couldn’t blame her reaction.

For most people, she would come across too strong. But in getting to know Rebecca Bunch, Greg knew there was a lot more to her than that. She was beautiful, smart, and funny. She would do practically anything for the people closest to her.

Therefore, it was only fair that he admit that, “It was enough to get me to love you.” He could see her wanting to interject, but he prevented her from doing so. “That’s what makes this so hard, but you have to admit that our relationship was kind of a shitshow.”

Unsurprisingly, Rebecca was taken aback by that. “Greg, c’mon. We weren’t that bad.”

“We kind of were.”

She pointed her finger at him, waving it a few times before saying, “That’s because we never gave this a fair chance.” Rebecca then grabbed his hand, and while Greg experienced a familiar reaction, he didn’t change his expression, reminding Rebecca of his current situation. She pursed her lips and took a step back, her hand falling back to her side. “I know, I know. I’m not going to stop you, but you know I’m right.”

“You may be right, but that doesn’t mean that I’m wrong.” Because he knew that under the right circumstances, they could be great together. But those conditions didn’t exist right now.  “Maybe someday that will change, but now…”

“It’s okay, I get it.”  She shook her head a few more times for good measure, and he knew that she was doing her best to keep her tears at bay.  “It was… it was nice knowing you, Greg Serrano.”

When she reached out her hand, Greg was quick to shake it. “You too Bunch.”

Within a couple shakes, Greg moved his other hand to her back and pulled her close. He knew he was playing with fire, but a handshake just didn’t feel right, especially when she returned the hug right away.

He felt tempted to apologize, to say something, but he knew better and that nothing good would come from it. Instead, he dropped his arm and took a step back, unable to turn his head away from noticing the look on her face.

They both paused, lost in each other’s eyes for a few seconds, and despite everything screaming at him to walk away, Greg really wanted to kiss her. However, his sense won out and he took another step back, surprised to feel her pass the sweatshirt to him.

 “It’s best that you keep this, trust me.”

“Okay,” he said, but when he took it, Rebecca refused to let go. When he looked at her, her eyes were still looking down.

“Sorry, I’m… I’m not great at goodbyes.” That made sense to him, especially considering how she had bolted to New York in the past. However, this was different. Even though Greg knew he had no intention of calling West Covina home again, he still wanted to tell her that this wasn’t goodbye.

Luckily, Rebecca’s head lifted, and her next words did that work for him. “Do people still say ‘until next time?’ Because I –”

“Why not?” he interjected with a grin. As they were both holding the sweatshirt, Greg shook it once. “Until next time.”

It looked really silly, so both Greg and Rebecca chuckled as she shook the sweatshirt one time in return before letting the sleeve slip from her hand. “Until next time then,” she said. "Have a safe flight, Greg."

He grinned, as for all their faults, there were a couple things they had in common. Not being able to say goodbye was certainly a strength of theirs, but at least it felt like they had a sense of closure before he left. Greg was also proud that they were able to talk about this like adults. As he walked to her front door, he could hear Rebecca's footsteps behind him, so he gave her one last smile before he opened and walked out the door. Once he shut it behind him, Greg took a few deep breaths, feeling conflicted, but the click on the other side brought him back to reality.

At least she finally remembered to lock her door.


	2. First Contact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place right after the Season 2 finale

When the day finally came, it was no surprise that Greg found himself dreading every second. He wasn’t in West Covina, he wasn’t even in California, as there was no amount of money that could bring him to witness his best friend getting married to his ex. However, he also wasn’t an idiot, he knew he had to rip off the band-aid, to get used to the reality of #BunchofChans. Thanks to social media, it was almost too easy. While Josh’s feed had weirdly quieted down in the last couple of days, Rebecca's constant wedding updates convinced him that everything was on track.

About an hour before the wedding, Greg abandoned his phone to focus on other matters because he knew it was only a matter of time before one of his friends filled in the blanks. The first call came sooner than he expected, almost too soon, so he let it go to voicemail. When he realized it was Heather, it didn't surprise him that she didn't leave a message. However, he didn't think his phone would buzz again before he had a chance to put it down on his desk. This time, it was White Josh and Greg knew that something was up. While the sources of the calls came from the two people he had kept in touch with the most after leaving West Covina, they knew to avoid Rebecca as a conversation topic. Obviously, today was different, but as he heard White Josh explain what had happened, Greg couldn’t believe his ears.

Rebecca and Josh weren’t getting married. It wasn’t because of him getting cold feet, or because of her past or any of her shenanigans. No, Josh was becoming a _priest_ of all things.

For about ten minutes, nothing made sense to Greg, no matter how much White Josh tried to explain it. Greg had withdrawn from the love triangle, he allowed the happy ending to occur. After he left, it didn't take long for things to fall into place like a romantic comedy, with the odd bump leading to the accelerated wedding timeline. Last week, Chan had called him every day, asking Greg what it would take for him to come to the wedding. It had stopped recently, but there was no way that he could have surmised this reason. Greg just assumed that he finally took the hint.

Eventually, Greg realized that he needed to know more, so he ended the call with White Josh to call Heather back. She was part of the wedding party, so he figured that she would have more answers. Of course she did, but Greg found himself fixating on one particular moment, even as Heather continued talking.

_“She almost killed herself because every man she had ever loved has left. Paula’s with her now, but I think they’re hatching a scheme to ruin your best friend’s life.”_

When he found his voice again, Greg wanted to interject, but Heather quickly mumbled that she would call him back and that Paula was coming before she hung up. And if Paula intimidated Heather that much, that didn't bode well for Josh, However, there wasn’t much that Greg could do to help Josh, even if he wanted to. Sure, he was Greg's oldest friend, but at some point, Josh had to accept the consequences of his actions and he had to know what was coming by not showing up for his wedding.

The strangest thing was that everything that had happened today should have made Greg feel better, but it didn't. He figured he'd feel a twinge of pride, especially considering his immediate reaction upon getting the wedding e-invitation was going to a liquor store. Luckily, he had come far enough to walk out empty handed that day, but that made Greg realize that maybe he had also come far enough to realize his part in all this. After all, he had loved Rebecca when he left. He had told her as much. The problem was, as bad as he felt when he left her place that night, there was nothing that would cause Greg to regret leaving West Covina for Emory. Leaving was the right thing to do for his life and recovery and it was best for Rebecca too. Until her and Josh had an actual relationship, his shadow would always be between her and Greg and he couldn't handle that. Then again, it also hurt like hell to be proven right, to see her dating Chan just weeks after he left, but at least it allowed Greg to realize that he made the right call and he could officially move on.

Or so he thought, as Greg couldn't put down his phone and he couldn't stop thinking about Rebecca. He really did feel bad for her, because no matter what had happened between them, he did still care about her and she deserved better than this. As he scrolled through his contact list, he thought about the day that she had momentarily left for New York, how he thought he had lost her for good. Sure, him leaving wasn't a perfect parallel, as he at least got the courage to say his goodbyes, but for some reason, he knew that he had to reach out and it couldn’t be through a text or an email. It seemed like a crazy idea, especially considering he hadn’t talked to her since his last night in West Covina, but it had to be done. Maybe it was more for him, to absolve his conscience, than it was for her, but all this time, he had done nothing and that didn’t feel like the solution now.

So he dialled, not sure how he was going to react to hearing the pain in her voice, but he was saved that experience when her voicemail started after two rings. In that moment, Greg couldn’t help but chuckle. He probably deserved that. However, when the beep came, he knew what he had to say.

“I know I’m probably the third-last person you want to hear from right now, but I heard what happened. You don’t have to listen to this if you don’t want to, but I hope you do.” Greg took a deep breath. “Like I told you that day, I loved you. So yes, I loved you and I left.”

He didn’t know if Rebecca was talking about him when she said that, but he wanted to be honest about what he knew. He opened his mouth, tempted to say that he had no idea if she loved him, but he quickly changed his mind, realizing that that wouldn’t help anyone right now.

“You’ve probably heard this already, but it's not your fault. That’s on me, it’s on all of the guys in your life. Honestly, I've never met him, but your dad seems like an asshole. As for Josh, based on what I know, I think he made a decision based on his life, not his relationship with you. It would have impacted your marriage down the line, so as much as it hurts now, it would have hurt a lot more later.”

Greg dipped his head. “Incidentally, that’s also why I had to leave when I did. Because I wanted to stay. I wanted to be on that bridge with you and eat sub-par pasta and breadsticks at Olive Garden that night.”

He cracked a smile, remembering the way she looked on that bridge. The effortless smile on her face and the hope for something new. The something that he extinguished. “But after years of saving, I could move forward with my life. I could make something of myself. And as much as I wanted to make something work with you, I wanted to make myself better first. Maybe then, I could become someone who would deserve someone as smart, as funny and as beautiful as you one day.”

Greg swallowed hard, pursing his lips before he spoke again. “I don’t know if hearing me say this helps. It probably doesn’t, but it’s the truth, which you deserve, especially today. Hopefully one day you can forgive me for walking out on a second or third chance. But, for now, keep your head up. You have every right to be angry, but you have a lot to live for.”

It was a stupid cliché, one she had probably heard enough of today, but part of him hoped that it would mean more coming from him. However, as much as he had admitted, it still didn’t feel like enough. So he added, "And if you need to talk, I’m here for you. We both know that I’ve never been a fan of cleaning up your Josh-related messes, but I’ll make an exception this time as long as I’m not in class.”

He paused for a couple seconds, feeling a bit unsure of how to end the call, but soon found his answer as he thought about the last time he saw Rebecca. “And on that note… until next time, Bunch. Take care of yourself.”

 

**~0~**

 

The next morning, Greg woke up to find two new text message on his phone from Rebecca.

 _I listened to your message. You didn’t have to do that, but thank you_ _:)_

_And with you, there is nothing to forgive. You at least had the courage to tell me to my face why we didn’t work out. Until next time, Serrano._

It seemed silly to smile over these messages, over the happy-face emoticon, especially since he knew the aftermath of Josh not showing up to the wedding wasn't going to be pretty. But Greg couldn’t help it because his effort had been worth it. He had helped her, maybe even helped her smile, during a dark time.

That was something, even if she never reached out to him after that and Greg never felt right calling her again.

Sure enough, things in West Covina took a dark turn in the following months, as Rebecca and Paula’s attempts to ruin Josh would reach Greg through chats with Heather. Suddenly, over a year passed, and Greg found himself further removed from West Covina related drama. Things at Emory were going great, his recovery was still going smoothly and his dad seemed to be in good spirits.

Then, one day, Greg found a wedding invitation in his mail. The wedding wasn’t for months, but no doubt they wanted to ensure Greg had no reason to say no.

That was fair, considering he hadn't been to West Covina since last Thanksgiving and he was only in town for two days. But he did tell Rebecca he would come back to West Covina for this day, even though Greg figured the day wouldn’t come. That was still a possibility, especially with the recent wedding history, but this was one wedding that Greg wanted to happen without a hitch. Even if that meant he was heading back to West Covina. Even if it meant he would see Rebecca for the first time in years.


End file.
